Hashirama Senju
Hashirama Senju (千手柱間, Senju Hashirama), renowned as the God of Shinobi (忍の神, Shinobi no Kami), was a legendary ninja who hailed from theSenju clan that together with the Uchiha clan, established the first shinobi village: Konohagakure. He would later go on to become the village's FirstHokage (初代火影, Shodai Hokage; Literally meaning "First or Founding Fire Shadow"). Background During the Warring States Period, Hashirama first came across Madara Uchihaat the edge of a river where the young Uchiha was attempting to skip a stone all the way across. Easily getting a rock to the other side, Hashirama introduced himself to Madara as his rival in stone skipping, and noted that he was clearly leading.[3] Neither Hashirama nor Madara revealed their surnames, as it was unwise in such an era. Unbeknownst to them, their clans had been in a bloody feud for ages, hired constantly by opposing factions to counterbalance the other. The two knew that the only way for them to survive was to befriend their enemies. As they skipped stones together, the two boys discovered the corpse of a member of the Hagoromo clan.[4] Soon afterward, Hashirama attended the burial of his younger brother, Kawarama, who had been murdered by members of the Uchiha clan.[5] Saddened by Kawarama's passing, Hashirama got into a brief altercation with his father over what he considered to be the pointless death of his brother.[6]That moment convinced Hashirama, with his brother, Tobirama's support, that there would have to be peace amongst ninja. Not long passed before Itama, Hashirama and Tobirama's other younger brother, also fell to the perils of war.[7] The event led Hashirama to return to the riverbank, where he met with Madara once more, and with him discussed the death of Itama.[8] Finding solace in each other's company, the two continued to meet by the river, where they sparred, shared techniques and talked over prospects for the future.[9] It was during one of these meetings that Hashirama revealed his dream to create a new village where people could live in peace, and more importantly, where children could grow up and study together.[10] It would be a place where shinobi would be assigned missions based on their level of skill and not out of necessity to fill a battlefield with forces, learned or not.[11] Madara agreed, and the two children decided to build their dream village below the very cliff where they talked.[12] However, Hashirama's friendship with the young Uchiha was not long to last, as Butsuma soon discovered from Tobirama that his son had been meeting with Madara.[13] Revealing to Hashirama that Madara was in fact an Uchiha who had killed several of the Senju's strongest shinobi, he ordered his son to use his meetings with Madara to spy on him and, if necessary, to kill him.[14] Still, Hashirama could not stand to betray his friend; when the two boys met again they warned each other that a trap had been set for the other, but as they fled, they looked back in shock to find their fathers and younger brothers standing across from each other, fully ready for combat.After Hashirama and Madara intervened to protect their respective younger brothers, Hashirama was devastated to see Madara end their friendship and declare them mortal enemies.[16] As the years passed, Hashirama was forced to battle his once-friend many times before they eventually became the leaders of their clans.[17]Hashirama attempted repeatedly to convince Madara to cease fighting, but Madara objected.[18] After Madara obtained his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Hashirama defeated the jaded Uchiha and approached him once more to create peace between their clans; however, Madara once again refused to accept, and stated that he would not trust the Senju unless Hashirama either took his own life, or that of his younger brother.[19] Choosing suicide, Hashirama asked his brother to accept the Uchiha as allies and end their feud, but was stopped by Madara, who then accepted the truce. After the truce, the Uchiha and Senju made preparations for their village to finally be founded.[21] Hashirama expressed his desire for Madara to be made the first Hokage, and even carve his likeness onto the cliffside overlooking the village.[22] Tobirama, however, convinced him that the villagers would never follow Madara, and that the should be given the choice of who should lead them.[23]Hashirama reluctantly agreed.[20] The villagers selected Hashirama over Madara for the title of First Hokage.[24] Afterwards, Hashirama and Madara met at the Naka Shrine, where Madara expressed his fear of Tobirama becoming the Second Hokage, and announced his plan to make his dream become a reality. Madara departed the village. Soon afterwards, Konohagakure began to prosper as Hashirama and Madara had dreamed it would in childhood, causing other nations to adopt Konoha's Shinobi Nation system.[25] Later, Madara returned, having acquired control over theNine-Tailed Fox, intent on challenging Hashirama once again.[26]During the battle Hashirama attempted to reason with Madara to stop fighting and come to his senses, but realising that Madara would not back down, Hashirama entered Sage Mode to end the battle.[27]With his augmented power, Hashirama was able to destroy Madara's Susanoo and subdue the Nine-Tails, forcing Madara to confront Hashirama directly.[28] The battle waged on well into the night, leaving both Shinobi battered and exhausted.[29] In a final clash, Madara was the last one standing.[30] Looking back at Madara, Hashirama tried one more time to reason with Madara, noting how far their former shared dream had come.[31] When Madara scoffed at the remarks, Hashirama resolved to finish Madara off, revealing himself behind Madara and stabbing him through the chest.[32] As Madara realised the Hashirama he had clashed with was a clone, Hashirama bitterly accepted that Madara had truly relinquished his ties to their village, and declared that he would always protect it.[33] Madara vowed that one day the village would become shrouded in darkness before finally collapsing. In the aftermath of intense battle, the defeated Madara faked his death and went into hiding,[35] while Hashirama's wife, Mito Uzumaki, became the Nine-Tails' first jinchūriki by sealing the beast within herself.[36] The devastation to the terrain which ensued from this battle were so great that it created an entire land formation that eventually became known as the Valley of the End. During his time as Hokage, Hashirama came into possession of a scrollfilled with — amongst other skills — various kinjutsu, which he sealed away in order to keep the techniques within it a secret.[37] At some point in time, he also defeatedKakuzu, who had been sent to assassinate him by Takigakure,[38] and also gained control of severaltailed beasts. He shared these beasts to other, newly-formed villages in an attempt to maintain peace and equalise the powers between the nations.[39] Thinking about the future of Konoha, he also trained the young Hiruzen Sarutobi, one of his brother's team members. He lived long enough to meet his first grandchild, Tsunade, and noted that he had spoiled her a great deal, even going as far as to teach her how to gamble.[40] Hashirama died some time after the founding of Konoha in one of the many wars that were raging during this revolutionary era, but not before passing on the title of Hokage to Tobirama. Abilities Hashirama is reputed as the most powerful shinobi of his era, his might being so vast that it earned him the title of "God of Shinobi",[2][75][76] and having been called the strongest shinobi even by his enemy Madara Uchiha who, on countless occasions admitted his inferiority to the legend.[77][69] His strength was so greatly respected by the shinobi world that Madara himself claimed Hashirama was the one person whom he most admired and detested,[78] as well as the only person capable of stopping him,[79]something that dated even back to their childhood.[80] Madara mentioned that fighting all five current Kage was trivial compared to his battle with Hashirama, and that with only one of them present, the landscape would not change as drastically — a reference to the battle between the two that created an entire valley.[81] Kabuto Yakushi claimed that Hashirama's might was so vast, that there aren't any living shinobi in the current era that could match his level of power. It was such that many considered his prowess to be a mere fairy tale much like the existence of the Sage of the Six Paths.[82] The most common example was his ability to not only fight on equal footing with Madara despite the latter possessing an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and having control of the Nine-Tails, but also survive the battle and ultimately achieve victory against his former comrade and adversary. Stamina and Life Force As a Senju, Hashirama inherited an extraordinary life force, as well as physical energy so much so that he was able to fight Madara for 24 hours non-stop and still have enough energy to stand on his feet.[83] Likewise, his chakra was also shown to be remarkably strong; a testament to its fortitude was witnessed through Hashirama's use of his chakra alone to deter his brother from attacking, which almost caused the Naka Shrine to collapse.[84] He was also able to resist the control ofOrochimaru's Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation with relative ease when reincarnated with almost his full power, which greatly worried the Sannin.[85] His chakra levels also made him suitable to learn senjutsu and enter Sage Mode. Ninjutsu Hashirama was arguably most famous for his unique Wood Releasetechniques, a kekkei genkai formed through simultaneous use of earthand water-natured chakra. By converting chakra into the source of life, he was able to create wood and plants from the ground of or his very being, causing them to grow to great sizes and manipulate them to diverse shapes and battle uses at will and in an instant, he could shape the entire battlefield for his own uses. This ability appeared to be exclusively his, as no other known member of his clan has ever displayed its use thus far. Even those who obtained this power through unorthodox means, such as Yamato, have stated that their use of Wood Release was much weaker in terms of raw power. He could create massive forests and gigantic flowering trees whose pollen can render a foe unconscious. He could also make wood clonesof himself. Madara later stated that he was the only one who could tell the difference between Hashirama and his wood clones with his ocular powers.[87] Hashirama could create a giant wooden dragoncapable of restraining the Nine-Tails by using its immense serpentine body to constrict and absorb its chakra. He could also create a wood golem that works in conjunction with the dragon and is strong enough to catch a Tailed Beast Ball with its bare hands.[88] He could also create protective structures that are able to withstand the destructive force of a Tailed Beast Ball,[89] and could even create several giant wood hands that could block the sword of Madara's final Susanoo.[90] Along with his kekkei genkai, Hashirama also possessed a unique ability to control tailed beasts.[91]Of all his considerable talents, it was this ability in particular that made Hashirama unparalleled in the shinobi world, so much so that he is regarded as one of the few people capable of completely controlling a tailed beast.[92] At one time, he had many of the beasts in his possession.[39] This ability was greatly amplified by his crystal necklace, which Yamato suggested that he required to control even Naruto's partial lapses into tailed forms. Medical Ninjutsu According to Madara, Hashirama was also able to use medical ninjutsu. His skill with which was such that he could heal himself without forming seals, and from the medical ninjutsu that his granddaughter Tsunade — who is considered to be the greatest medical-nin in the world as it is — had displayed at that point in time, Madara surmised that his medical techniques were also on an entirely different level than hers are. Bukijutsu Hashirama was also extremely skilled in weapons use, especially in kenjutsu and wielded a myriad ofswords, one such had a broad, cleaver-like blade.[96][97] He also could wield giant shuriken. In the anime, he displayed a creative combination of his weapon skills with his Wood Release techniques, having several roots wrapped around his weapons, allowing him to attack from a longer range with different angles.[98] Hashirama possessed several large scrolls that were roughly his height, presumably to store his weapons. His skill in weapons use was such that he could clash against Madara Uchiha, another highly-skilled weapons user at an equal level, forcing both to shift between using weapons and ninjutsu in order to break the stalemate. Senjutsu Hashirama's chakra reserves were immense; great enough that he could train in the art of senjutsu and also enter Sage Mode. In this mode, he gains markings around and under his eyes as well as one in the middle of his forehead reminiscent of a third eye. Sage Mode greatly increased the strength and scale of his techniques. A testament to this, was his Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands technique, which created a gargantuan wooden statue that possesses a thousand hands which easily towered over mountains and even the Nine-Tails.[99] Then after creating it, Hashirama would then utilise the statue's thousands of hands to deliver a barrage of punches of such magnitude that they were able to completely destroy Madara Uchiha's final Susanoo, strip it off the Nine-Tails, while at the same time create a massive crater which became the Valley of the End.[100] The statue possesses extreme durability, as it was able to withstand a barrage of unexploded Tailed Beast Balls combined with Madara's final Susanoo blades.[101] It also possesses notable strength, as it was able to easily grab the beast with one of its hands.[102] Hashirama can also perform Sage Art: Gate of the Great God, a technique that can bind a titanic creature such as the Ten-Tails, making it unable to move due to the bulk of its current form. Other Skills As the leader of the Senju clan, Hashirama held proficiency in a wide cross-section of shinobi skills, and possessed at least an understanding of those he did not. He was well-versed in genjutsu and could perform powerful illusions such as the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, which locked the target in perpetual darkness for the duration of the technique.[104] In the anime, he displayed aptitude in the art of fūinjutsu, using the Contract Seal to break Madara's control over Kurama.[98] Hashirama could use Summoning: Quintuple Rashōmon, which brings out five Rashōmon that can protect him from nearly any attack.[105] He is also adept at using barrier ninjutsu, capable of erecting a Kage-calibre barrier powerful enough to trap the Ten-Tails.[106] He was also a sensor type, though not as good as Tobirama.[107] He had high skill in taijutsu since childhood, with Madara noting that they were roughly equal in this area.[108] He also showed great tactical skill and deceptive abilities, waiting until Madara became so exhausted that he couldn't maintain his Sharingan to create a wood clone for Madara to strike down so he could attack from behind without his opponent even realising it.